Organization and Innovation
Activities of the Division of University Corporate Relations
The Division of University Corporate Relations (DUCR) is the organization that works to promote collaborations
between University researchers and society in the quest to create innovation. One of the hubs for these activities
is the University of Tokyo Entrepreneur Plaza on the Hongo Campus.
The Entrepreneur Plaza is home to 23 ambitious venture companies. In this section we introduce two of them.
♦ Contributing to Japan's Manufacturing Industries with New Simulation Technology
♦ Japanese Creation to Worldwide Sensation: the Making of a Novel Peptide Drug
What is the Office of Science Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development (SEED)? Division of University Corporate Relations
The Office of Science Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development (SEED) of the Division of University Corporate Relations (DUCR) is headed by Professor Shigeo Kagami. SEED seeks to achieve creative university-industry collaborations in order to implement the University's research outcomes into society and realize high-impact innovation. One of the missions of SEED is to create specific joint research projects that harness the comprehensive skills and capabilities of the University of Tokyo. To this end SEED is engaged in the promotion of various programs including a collaborative research development scheme known as Proprius21, a project to create international university-industry collaborations known as Global Proprius21, as well as the Science and Technology Exchange Forum.
A further mission of SEED is to provide support to venture companies founded upon the research and technology developed at University of Tokyo. The University of Tokyo Entrepreneur Plaza was opened in 2007 as a facility to support these venture companies by responding to their diverse research needs. Many venture companies have gotten their start from the Entrepreneur Plaza.
Another area of focus for SEED is entrepreneurship education. In collaboration with the University of Tokyo Edge Capital Co., Ltd. (UTEC) and TODAI TLO, Ltd., SEED operates a program for entrepreneurship education known as the University of Tokyo Entrepreneur DOJO, which is now in its ninth term of operation. SEED will continue to cooperate with all Faculties and Graduate Schools of the University while making concentrated efforts in the area of entrepreneurial education.
